Magic Blueberry Sparkle Smoke
by myrhymesarepurer
Summary: Brotherhood, East City / The strangest, most peculiar case Team Mustang had ever handled involved an Eastern Amestrian witch and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye completely losing her voice, by magic. / "I have to kiss you," he said. The Lieutenant froze. "Classic curse. Classic cure." / Royai


_Leave a "Unbind Me" in my ask, and I'll write a drabble about one character freeing another._ This one comes from liberty-flights request on tumblr. It's a little goofy. But, I kinda like it? Tell me what you think.

* * *

The strangest, most peculiar case Team Mustang had ever handled  
involved a self-proclaimed Eastern Amestrian witch,  
a blue powder, a smoke that sparkled without sun,

and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye  
completely losing her voice.

Not by illness,  
nor by overuse,

but by a spell,  
a curse,  
yes, _magic._

Given this mission took place long before the whole military coup,  
battling undying beats and preventing the creation  
of an all-powerful scarlet stone via an enormous,  
country-wide alchemic transmutation circle.

But, until that point,  
this case took the cake.

" _Lieutenant!"_

Roy panicked when he saw the smoke.  
It wasn't dark or ominous.  
It was sky blue and seemed something more like flour.

It glittered and glistened despite the rain and clouds,  
and actually smelled much like blueberries.

Regardless, it was still an explosion.

The creepy little house erupted with the stuff,  
busting the windows open,  
launching the door off its hinges.

Mustang and his men just barely ducked in time to miss  
the thing fly over their car and skid into the street behind them.

The original report was practically a noise complaint.

The residence was generally unsettling, and according to the report,  
the unruly and unkempt town house beamed with strange  
multicolored light through the night,

The old lady that lived there was rumored to chant nonsense

from approximately eight to ten at night.

The file even included that,  
as if it were grounds for arrest.

It was the Military Police that bumped it up all the way to their level,  
all the way up to the Flame Alchemist and his sniper.

They were spooked.  
They were cowards.

"This sound fun,"

Roy had grinned at the Lieutenant when she plopped the file on his desk,  
restraining a roll of her eyes. The Colonel took that almost  
as a recommendation for a good read.

He had flipped through the pages faster than Riza  
had ever thought possible for the Colonel.

She had no choice but to follow orders when he stretched  
his arms behind his head and said, "We'll go tomorrow morning."

In that moment, amongst the blue, Roy yanked on a glove,  
forgetting the fact that it was raining,  
and he was soaked,  
gloves to boots.

He started screaming orders, sheer panic.  
All of the Mustang Unit readied for a fight.

Yet the Eastern Military Police in the background  
shook in fear, trembling behind their patrol cars.

"Infiltrate the property. Find the L-"

Hawkeye didn't rush through the door,  
Roy watched her simply step out onto the porch,

her grip still locked on her gun,  
her face caked in the same thick blue powder.

She leaned on the post by the stairs,  
coughed dryly once, twice,

then she squinted through the cloud  
to find her team and the voice that called,  
"Hawkeye!"

 _There is someone you care for deeply, Lieutenant Hawkeye._

Riza swatted away dust, and blue, and little things that sparkled,

"I'm fine," she shouted, but she didn't hear her voice.

She didn't hear her voice.  
Riza grabbed her throat.

She _couldn't_ hear her voice,  
and neither could they.

"Go inside. Arrest that woman for assault of an officer,"

Roy barked at the MP's, quaking in their boots  
still clear on the other side of the street.

Havoc rushed to catch Hawkeye  
stumble down the last step.

" _GO_ , Dammit."

Riza wiped blue from her eyes, her cheeks,  
her nose, only to smear it across her face.

"I'm _fine_ , Colonel. I'm fine."

But, she couldn't hear her voice,  
and neither could they.

 _There is someone you care for deeply, Lieutenant Hawkeye, yes?  
I wonder how you would cope if you could never tell him how you feel._

It was some sort of punishment for her skepticism,  
her unwillingness to leave the woman be.

Riza didn't think it would actually work.  
 _Cowards_ , she had huffed about all the men.

Seemed she was made a fool.  
Seemed she had it coming.

The MP's carried the witch out of the house,  
after a good portion of time frantically arguing:

" _You_ go first."  
"No, _you_ go first."

"I'll have you all _COURTMARTIALED_."

Roy shouldn't have been reprimanding them for their fear,  
and he certainly knew it. For, he and Havoc,  
and Breda,  
and Fuery,  
 _and_ Falman

all backed away from the house when  
Riza rapped on the door, guarded by strings  
of bones and beads.

"Too creepy," Havoc chewed on his cigarette,  
shaking his head and ditching, "Too too creepy,"

The bones were fake.  
The beads were plastic.

"Seems she took a trip to the 90 cen store,"

Riza knocked on the door,  
and it opened

by itself.

Roy then blamed the rain.  
Riza rolled her eyes when he hustled down the steps.

"It's not a combat mission, Colonel,"  
she said sternly, "And, it's _inside._ "

It was _just_ a noise complaint.  
They _just_ needed to have a chat with the woman inside.

Still, the Colonel and his men feigned composure,  
standing in the street, while they let the Lieutenant  
do the dirty work,

He let her go in alone.

That was stupid.  
He was so so stupid.

Havoc had dropped his gun and rushed to her.  
He steadied her shoulders, bringing her to lean against  
the car. And, in only moments,  
the chaos was over,

the blue power floated away to join the clouds,  
and the witch's lair was suddenly just a house.

Yet, Riza wasn't talking,  
and that was _concerning._  
to say the least.

The Lieutenant was excellent at being briefed,  
she could repeat words verbatim,  
actions second by second,

full fifty plus page mission reports,  
chalk full of intricate detail.

Those reports were crucial.  
There was no way she _didn't_ know that  
she needed to talk.

Yet, she didn't. She would barely look  
any of them in the eye.

"Hawkeye," Roy grabbed both  
sides of her face with wet gloves.

She lifted her chin for him,  
and confronted him head on  
 _finally._

"We need to get her to a doctor,"

Roy concluded, studying her eyes,  
too flustered to read them clearly.

Riza snatched a chunk of his coat in a steel grip  
before he could make it to the driver's side.

"What?"

She just shook her head.  
"No doctor?" he guessed.

Riza sighed. She had to say something.  
She couldn't say anything.

Riza patted her throat.

"You _can't_ speak."  
Rather than she _wouldn't._

That was both a just a tad more and a magnificent  
amount less favorable of a circumstance.

"It was the smoke," Roy said,  
"You need a doctor, Lieutenant."

Riza shook her head frantically,  
bit her lip. She sighed.

She couldn't believe she was about to say this,  
or, well, sign this,  
 _whatever._

It was her saving grace that Jean Havoc  
made is so she didn't have to.

He wiggled his fingers in a way that could only  
be described as _disturbing_ , even though _mystic_  
was more of what he was going for.

The Lieutenant lifted an eyebrow.  
Roy rolled his eyes.

"Havoc, she can still _hear_ you."

Havoc ignored the Colonel,  
and _insisted_ with his big blue eyes  
that she answer.

Riza sighed, glanced at his fingers,  
and some how knew exactly what he meant.

Riza wiggled her fingers and nodded.  
Havoc turned to Roy, "It was magic, boss."

Riza held the bridge of her nose,  
while Roy stared at her, incredulous.

"What, the _witch_?"

They all stood silent, for Riza Hawkeye  
was absolutely, certainly  
never known to lie.

Never to _them._  
Ever.

"Well," Breda smacked on his gum,  
"No one's going to believe that,"

The Lieutenant cut him a death glare.

"We can't go back to Eastern with her like this."  
Fuery cried, "They'll think she's crazy."

Roy stared at Riza.

He'd never seen her so-  
 _what was the word._

"Well, there has to be some kind of antidote."  
Falman rationalized. Breda blew a bubble,  
"Yeah, yeah. Like a cure."

The Colonel frowned.

His Lieutenant wasn't scared.  
She wasn't spooked,

even after the smoke  
and the witch  
and the sparkles.

Even after losing her voice,  
 _apparently_ by some magic spell.

Her eyes stayed locked on his,  
and his on hers.

She wasn't scared.  
She wasn't spooked.

Riza Hawkeye was just embarrassed.  
and that was _astoundingly_ strange.

"Yo, Boss." Havoc said through his teeth,  
nudging his head toward the sidewalk.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

What was supposed to be a private conversation,  
turned into basically a meeting.

Roy, however, didn't have the patience to comment  
on how Fuery and Falman and Breda  
all slowly gravitated toward he and Havoc.

Eavesdropping turned into  
straight up meddling.

Soon it was a group conference.

Though, the Colonel didn't hear much of anything,  
He, instead, watched Hawkeye very closely,  
standing with the umbrella,  
right where they left her.

Riza sneezed. Blue powder came out her ears.

Roy didn't register really any piece of the conversation around him,  
until Havoc suggested the most absurd, insane,  
perfectly illogical solution.

"I bet you one thousand cens it's a True Love's Kiss thing."

All four of them then looked directly at the Colonel.

Roy blinked, then became far more  
defensive than he really should have,

" _What_ on earth are you talking about?"

"It makes sense," Falman said rationally,  
"Classic storybook cure for a classic storybook curse."

"You are all forgetting that _fairytales aren't_ _real._  
Magic _isn't rea_ l," He looked to Riza.

She sneezed again, whether it was from the cold of rain  
or the glitter in her nose, he didn't know.

"I still think it's the smoke."

The cloud was strange and blue, and _sparkly,  
_ but it wasn't necessarily magic.

It couldn't be good for their lungs.

They, honestly, should probably be clearing the area.

Havoc, however, immediately argued,  
instantly shut the Colonel down,

"One: You shoot fire from your fingers. That's practically magic.  
Two: Hawkeye is the most trustworthy person in Amestris.  
She's not lying. You know that. I know that,"

Havoc turned to the other three,  
Roy officially defeated.

"Who votes the Colonel kisses Hawkeye?"

"This is not a _democracy."_ Roy shouted,  
before any of them could lift a hand.

Riza eyed them warily from the car,  
Fuery lowered his voice and reasoned.

"It doesn't technically have to be a _romantic_ connection, Sir  
It could work just as well with a strong bond.

You two have a strong bond."

Havoc mumbled something  
under his breath about "denial."

Breda agreed just the same,  
muttering a "Damn straight."

They had to be back at Eastern in twenty minutes  
or the Filing and Evidence offices would get cranky.

Team Mustang was never quite as _punctual_ as those departments  
would have liked them to be. Never ever. That was all the Colonel's fault.  
Roy just wanted to take Riza to the infirmary.

But.

Something was wrong.  
They had to deal with this _now._

They had to take care of this now.  
So, a decision was made.

He had let her go in alone.  
He had left her without backup.

He had to fix it.  
This was their best shot.

Of course, he most certainly not _complaining,_  
being "forced" to kiss a beautiful woman,

much much much less being  
"forced" to kiss Riza Hawkeye.

He wasn't complaining  
at all.

But, he wasn't particularly looking forward  
to _her_ reaction once he informed her of the plan,  
their hypothesis, their grand idea of an antidote.

Roy suddenly stood stiff in front of Hawkeye.

He outstretched a hand.  
"Give me your guns."

Riza blanched for a second,  
about to protest.

But, as quickly as she glared at her commanding office,  
she compiled as usual, still despising ever having  
to follow orders that included the surrender  
of her favorite firearms.

She placed her go-to pistol in his hand.

"And, the other two."

Riza huffed, reached to her back holsters  
and handed over two more. Roy tilted his head,  
raised his eyebrows.

Riza stared him down.  
"Lieutenant."

She grabbed the final one from  
the shoulder hold under her coat.

Roy placed the guns on the car,  
leaned down to her boot, and pulled  
the last-resort combat knife out of its sleeve.

He waved it in feigned disappointment,  
then set it a hardy safe distance away.

"Good. Now, we're going to try something,"  
He leaned against the car next to her,  
"I needed to ensure you can't kill me."

Riza crossed her arms and squirmed impatiently.  
She wanted her guns back.

Roy glanced into the street, completely blasé,  
completely nonchalant, completely  
and utterly  
faking it.

"I have to kiss you."

Riza made a face.  
Roy could practically hear her voice.

 _ **That's**_ _what you came up with, Sir?_

"They're thinking-," Roy nudged his head toward  
the four men, huddled together, pretending not to watch,  
"-it's the whole _True Love's Kiss_ thing."

The Lieutenant froze.

"Classic curse. Classic cure,"  
Roy glanced at her from the side of his eye,

"They're thinking that could work."

Riza frowned.  
 _They're morons._

But, Roy just kept going,  
trying not to think too hard.

"Havoc has some girlfriend.  
Fuery is eying Sheska from the library.  
Breda is engaged to breadsticks.  
And, Falman has his books."

Most admittedly, they both knew he was only in front of her  
because none of their team could ever be as promising of an option  
as Roy Mustang.

Except, well -

Roy cut her off. "Hayate isn't here,

and we have to return to Headquarters

in fifteen."

Riza held back a small smile.  
They never had really needed words to communicate.

"Fuery said we just need a bond. "  
He said frankly, "We have a bond."

Riza could agree with that rationale,  
that logic. Riza could settle for that excuse.

Roy faced her.  
Riza faced him.

It was just another mission.  
Another duty.

They would do it.  
They would move on,  
in failure or success.

Like always.

She nodded,  
resolute.

 _Yes, Sir._

"Turn around," Roy called out,  
his voice echoing down the street.

The cowardly excuse for a Military Police was cleared out.  
The road was closed off. They were alone.

Except Fuery and Havoc and Breda and Falman  
who all stood in a heap, struggling  
not to giggle like little girls.

Riza watched them face the brick town homes  
lining the neighborhood beyond, and gave a sharp nod  
when their team finally decided to stay put.

Then, the Lieutenant gripped her umbrella so tight,  
her knuckles turned white. Roy didn't notice,  
he just kept glancing at her lips and said,

"Ready?" _  
_  
It was over in a moment.

A simple peck would have probably,  
honestly, been more than sufficient,  
if it was going to work at all.

Riza didn't think it would work.  
That was a bit of a lie.

She took a deep breath, felt the cold from the rain  
nearly evaporate off her skin,  
and heard the witch's words echo in her mind.

 _There is someone you care for, Lieutenant Hawkeye, yes?  
I wonder how you would cope if you could never tell him how you feel._

The most unfortunate truth it would always be that way,  
whether she had her voice or not, absurd magic spell or no.

They had always just had to forget,  
whatever it was.

In light of this _cure's_ success or failure,  
they would still have to forget about it,  
all the same.

So, Riza had little expectation, little hope  
when the Colonel lifted her chin and kissed her  
much too tenderly, too sweet for the occasion.

Yet, even so, she in no way,  
hesitated kissing back.

When he parted, they didn't move,  
as if they were both waiting for her voice

to just show up, to just reinforce  
something they honestly already knew

since they were young and naïve,  
whole and hopeful,  
unbroken.

They had been together ever since.

But, _True Love's kiss._  
The whole thing was foolish.

Her voice never did arrive.

There was the slightest trace of heartbreak on Roy's face  
while Riza just stared at the asphalt.

True Love?  
Perhaps not.

The Colonel took the umbrella from her hand  
and moved to open the back seat door.

He tried to smile at his Lieutenant.  
"You kind of taste like blueberries,"

Roy exhaled a weak laugh, knowing it was the smoke,

of blue powder, of sparkles  
and magic,  
or whatever.

It had smelled of blueberries,  
and apparently tasted of such too.

Snickers still came from the other side of the street.  
 _Children_ , Riza huffed. She straightened her spine,  
and muttered, "For their sake, I'm quite relieved that didn't wor-"

Riza's slapped a hand over her mouth.  
Roy's jaw dropped just so.

Her heartbeat tripped.  
His eyes were wide.

both shocked terribly so,  
and not at all,

all at same time

"Damn it," Roy breathed.

They agreed to bump the mission briefing to the next day over  
allowing Lieutenant Hawkeye some time to recover  
from the stress of the day's events.

That next morning Riza would tell the team  
all it took to break the spell was some warm milk  
and a good night's sleep.

They didn't receive the news well.  
Utter disappointment.

But, Riza Hawkeye was never one to lie.

And, technically, she maintained her reputation.

She did both of those things,  
the milk,  
some solid rest,  
all for good measure.

The Lieutenant simply didn't mention allowing  
the Colonel to check up on her later that night

providing a chance to repeat their first theory ,  
verify its effectiveness once  
or twice  
or three times more.

Just to be sure.

* * *

Reviews, reviews, I crave attention. Catch me on tumble myrhymesarepurer and give me one of these prompts.


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